When was the last time you booked a train ticket at a railway platform? When was the last time you consulted your maternal aunts and uncles for a holiday who had gone on a group tour themselves? When was the last time you asked your Geography teacher to throw light on your dream destination? Seems like ages ago, doesn’t it? That’s how fast humans are evolving, and their exposure to information and locations growing!
This phenomenon is largely dominated by the technology evolution, right from computer to internet to smart phones, and now to virtual reality. In other words, technology is making everything possible with information at your fingertips. Let’s look at how technology has shaped the modern travel industry and how the travel experience has become far exhilarating.
Mapping the travel experience with technology
A long time ago, going on a family holiday meant parents being in charge of the holiday planning because they knew the neighbourhood travel agent who in turn knew in and out of the destination. What has changed now? The dependency on one familiar neighbourhood travel agent has eroded, thanks to technology which has exposed one to a gamut of information to first learn about the destination and then make an informed choice. In other words, the travel agents’ role has been replaced by online travel websites.
But what gets critical from this point onwards is to plan the holiday to the letter. That doesn’t mean to be just acquainted with the destination but also know the art of buying the various holiday package components at the right price. Thus, comes the importance of a marketplace model where holiday planning is not at the mercy of one website/travel agent. While airline/railway/bus booking is a relatively easier task that can be done online now, holiday planning and booking is a rather elaborate task. Online e-commerce marketplace, a technology product, is a type of e-commerce site where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processed by the marketplace platform. The benefit for the marketplace platform is to not hold any inventory and the benefit of the traveller is to be exposed to multiple vendors, in this case travel agents, to review and compare their respective offerings.
In recent times, the holiday planning is not confined to buying a standard group tour package but to take control of each component that goes into making a holiday package – which are primarily the transport options from the city of departure, accommodation, inter-city transport & activities at the destination. This leads to a possibility of customizing each component, thus, enabling the creation of a holiday package as per one’s individual needs and requirements.
The online booking process through mobile applications instead of traditional websites has become a smarter and convenient option. Mobile applications collect traveller data through research tools, geo-location data, past bookings and predictive analytics to extend deals and promotions to the traveller and offer more value to his/her purchase and increase conversions on the marketplace platform.
It is not just holiday planning which is now ruled by technology but also the holiday experience. The traveller has several camera/video options to capture their happy holiday moments. Not just that, if something goes wrong during the holiday, the traveller has options of reaching out to the concerned travel agent or service provider through an interactive product. This way, travelling to an unknown territory seems less stressful and lets one enjoy the holiday the way it should be.